1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to data storage. More specifically, the present invention is related to determining whether a private data area in a file is safe to preserve to storage.
2. Related Art
As digital cameras and associated software applications proliferate, a dizzying number of file formats are emerging. Supporting all of them in every application has become impractical. As a result, a number of file format standards have been proposed.
Typically, file formats allow a user to store “private data” in a file. This is usually achieved by specifying a “private data area” in the file which can be utilized by users, such as camera manufacturers, to store desired data. For example, Extensible Image Format (EXIF) uses a MakerNote tag to store private data.
Note that a file is typically handled by a variety of applications (or systems). But, the private data area is usually understood only by the application (or system) that wrote the private data. As a result, an application (or a system) that does not understand the private data can corrupt the private data area while trying to preserve it. This can cause subsequent applications or systems that use the file to malfunction which can potentially have disastrous consequences.
Hence there is a need for a method and apparatus for determining whether a private data area in a file is safe to preserve.